Orange County agencies unite to fight human trafficking

Aug. 6, 2014

Updated Sept. 18, 2014 1:37 p.m.

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Orange County Transportation Authority bus driver Ray Lugo is one of about 1,150 bus drivers receiving training on how to spot the victims of human trafficking on OCTA buses. Members of the Orange County law enforcement community, transportation officials and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force held a joint news conference Wednesday to discuss the growing problem of human trafficking and the efforts to bring awareness with a program on OCTA buses. SAM GANGWER , SAM GANGWER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Supervisor Todd Spitzer speaks to the media as members of the Orange County law enforcement community, transportation officials and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force held a joint news conference Wednesday at the Orange County Transportation Authority headquarters to discuss the growing problem of human trafficking and the efforts to bring awareness with a program on OCTA buses. SAM GANGWER , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens speaks to the media in front of an Orange County Transportation bus covered in a new awareness campaign wrap at a press conference Wednesday morning. Members of the Orange County law enforcement community, transportation officials and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force held a joint news conference to discuss the growing problem of human trafficking and the efforts to bring awareness with a program on OCTA buses. SAM GANGWER , SAM GANGWER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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A new campaign to bring awareness to the problem of human trafficking was launched Wednesday showing an OCTA bus with special graphics as members of the Orange County law enforcement community, transportation officials and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force held a joint news conference to discuss the growing problem of human trafficking and the efforts to bring awareness with a program on Orange County Transportation Authority buses. SAM GANGWER , SAM GANGWER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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One of several security cameras on every Orange County Transportation Authority bus is attached to the ceiling of a bus with special graphics and advertisements to bring awareness to the growing problem of human trafficking. SAM GANGWER , SAM GANGWER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Orange County Transportation Authority bus driver Ray Lugo is one of about 1,150 bus drivers receiving training on how to spot the victims of human trafficking on OCTA buses. Members of the Orange County law enforcement community, transportation officials and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force held a joint news conference Wednesday to discuss the growing problem of human trafficking and the efforts to bring awareness with a program on OCTA buses. SAM GANGWER , SAM GANGWER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

With sex trafficking ranked as the most common form of human trafficking crime in Orange County, law enforcement, transportation and community officials are joining forces to combat what’s been called modern-day slavery.

Last year, 28 women and eight men were victims of labor trafficking, while 177 females, one male and one transgender adult were victims of sex trafficking, according to the 2014 Human Trafficking Victim Report released Wednesday by the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force.

The report also shows that the number of human trafficking perpetrators doubled between 2011 and 2013.

“A hundred percent of the women we have come into contact with, whether they have identified themselves as a victim or we have, have been under the control of a pimp or human trafficker at one point in time,” said Anaheim police Lt. Craig Friesen, a member of the task force.

The report’s release coincided with the launch of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s “Be The One” campaign, which is funded by a federal grant to help combat human trafficking.

So far, OCTA has trained about half of its 1,150 drivers and expects to complete the training by December.

Driver Ray Lugo said learning how to recognize the signs of human trafficking, such as tattoos indicating someone else’s ownership, and injuries from abuse or assault, has made him aware of what’s going on.

“I’ve seen in the past where you see one young lady standing on the bus stop time after time,” said Lugo, who has been an OCTA bus driver for six years, adding that now he feels prepared to report possible situations of human trafficking.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who is also director of the OCTA board, said bus lines serve 1 million passengers weekly and hopes that an ad, posters and pamphlets aboard buses will show riders what they can do to have an impact on human trafficking in the county.

“It’s another set of eyes and ears for us out on the street to help put us in contact with either victims, or point us in the right direction of people that are bringing people into the county,” Friesen said.

Anaheim police Chief Raul Quezada said that since 2010, when his department took the lead in fighting human trafficking, there have been 750 investigations, 350 arrests and 90 victims.

Victims of human trafficking are referred to the nonprofit Community Service Programs, which provides help, such as shelter, therapy and medical assistance, to the victims of human trafficking.

“A lot or our clients that are identified in Orange County are not from Orange County,” said Lita Mercado, a program director at CSP. “They are trafficked from other parts of the state. They are trafficked from other parts of the country and, in some instances, out of the country.”

About 65 percent of the human trafficking victims are U.S. citizens and the rest come from Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom, China, and Vietnam, Mercado said, adding that they have also encountered victims from Iran, Kenya and North Korea.

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas had a message for “these despicable people who are taking these young ladies and turning them into slaves.”

“Our goal is if you are involved in that kind of despicable conduct, we are going to send you to state prison. I want the human traffickers out there to keep that in mind,” he said.

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